Dirakkis Turn 11
Actions: Skaldaea: On the streets of Val'dem, street corners are filled with priests of various sects of Progenitism arguing their particular views, with some sects gaining followers as others wane in power. As tensions build in the city over the mixed beliefs, small scale riots begin to break out, often following the debates between particularly convincing or popular priests. As the scuffles continue to grow in size and violence, Frost, though proud, realizes that some form of regulation must be implemented, to prevent her people from tearing each other apart. Determined not to bow to the pressure from Raven, however, Frost sends out a call across the League for a second synod, this time hosted by Val'dem, in order to bring about an orthodox view. In a bold political play, Frost also invites delegates from the Stahl, some of whom had a role in initially introducing the beliefs to the Skaldaeans. (Culturex1, Stahl Joint Religion.) As Amaranth and Tamer return to their homes, pleased with the progress shown by the industrious people of Tamer's Shallows, both begin to look outwards for new challenges. Amaranth, now free to pursue Prathe's entry into the League, quickly journeys to Skaldaea proper, to begin the long legal battle necessary to admit Prathe into the League. (Expansionx1). Meanwhile Tamer, having secured an industrial base for the country, begins to look south-west, towards the peninsula that, following the success of Amaranth, would be straddled by Skaldaea. Determined to expand her people's holdings, Tamer began to call for an organized settlement of these lands, and began to move south, dividing the land into vast plantations that would generate income, as well as provide the material goods necessary for the factories to run. (Expansionx2). Lastly, with the factories now in full swing, and a small supply of wool from the livestock of northern Skaldaea, the workers of Tamer's Shallow set to work producing the uniforms called for by Amaranth in past years. A slight redesigning effort led to the newest military model, which included white pants, a deep blue jacket with white equipment belts, black leather belts and shoes, low black hats, and of course, shiny brass buttons. (Slow Growth Militaryx1). Akachk: Just off the northern coast, two Akachk Bronzeclads can be seen drilling in close formation. From the prow of the ship, Sakahi watches the sailors handle his cannons closely, always ready to lash out with a harsh warning at any sign of their endangering his precious weapons. At his side stands the first Akachk Admiral- Asab of the Pibon clan. With his clans return to prestige and status, Asab and his sons had found themselves in rather enviable positions. Marriages had been arranged for all of them with suitable partners, and they had a large family compound in the city of Konigan. The old Akachk is quite sick of it already, and is more than eager to spend as much time working with Sakahi on these strange devices as he can. At the moment, each of the ships only has one cannon mounted, mostly due to weight constraints- something the inventor has assured him is being worked on. One ship has it mounted on the prow, and the other atop the stern. They are each mounted upon a rotating platform, similar to the ones found atop the walls of Konigan- and each have a crew of four manning them at all times. With the loading complete, the crew scurries to aim the bronze tube. Their target: a searock, jutting out from the ocean. Nearby, Sakahi's apprentices stand ready to take notes and observe. (1-2, adapt cannons to naval usage, -60 Wealth +2) As Konigan grows larger and larger, it has begun to draw travelers from the world over. Long ago it surpassed the villages as the center of the largest Akachk population, and there are no signs such a growth is slowing. As such, Konigan represents the glory of the confederation, and of the Akachk, as a whole. The Council has decided to begin a program of beautification within the city- adding streetlamps, parks, and works of public art to the already grand acropolis. (3, Culture) All is not well within the grand city, however, as one of the oldest families within it makes preparations to flee. The Kakagin have long feuded with the Tibikas, and these tensions have finally reached the boiling point. Last week, the Kakagin kidnapped the eldest daughter of the Tibika, and in retaliation their compound was raided and burned to the ground. While the council of elders frowns upon such confrontation, this blood feud has existed for well over a century- whoever was initially to blame, such knowledge has long since been lost. As such, the elders have conferred with the Chieftains, and it has been decided that a swathe of lands to the south will be ceded to the Tibikas, and they will be given leave to settle it. (4, Expansion, -10 wealth). Stahl: Remaig was tired. Long had it been since his pews were full, since his ears rang with the exaltations to the Platinum. He rubbed his iron temples, casting a forlorn look at his worn knuckles. He hadn't expected much when he, one of the few, chose to abandon his caste to form the Church of the Platinum. No grandeur would follow the life of a Cleric of the Platinum, but even this was less than they expected. Twelve people in attendance. For the entire Platinum's Day mass. In the biggest church in the city. He was resolved to make a change. He wasn't high priest but he knew some of the traders. He'd see if the Skaldean priests had any idea of how to stir up the masses. Maybe they needed something more... Lively. (Joint research religion 1) BAPTIST PREACHERS HOOOOOOO) Remaig took a stroll to the lava pits, careful of his parchment. He sought inspiration. Perhaps watching the training at the river would invigorate him. Flurries of blows collided beside the river of magma as six of the Long-gang practiced outnumbered combat. Two of the group stood back to back, one crouched low in a defensive snake position, the other poised high to take advantage of the opening in their opponents onslaught. If the two could master their energy into heat, they would be fast enough. Those who weren't sparring on the banks of the magma were meditating in its depths. They have been attempting for months to harness the gain in speed and strength they experienced while deep in the flow of magma. It was and exercise in discipline and patience, (MAGMA KUNG FU tech 2) They had been at it for hours, and it showed. Tense as dead metal, the The first round went predictably. The first two attackers fell prey to a jumping spin kick counter by the poised defender, only for the two to be overwhelmed by the two others. "It gives me little hope to see so little character to your fighting!" The six of them stopped almost simultaneously. Cold steel eyes glared in disgust and disbelief. "Perhaps you would like to try..." Snarled the largest of the warrior monks. He walked up to the group. "You're too focused on technique! You gotta feel the heat of the mountain in you brother! You gotta feel it rise up WITHIN ya! You gotta-" "Know your PLACE" a steel fist shot towards the Iron clerics face with terrible speed. It hit air. In a flash two iron fists collided with a the steel head, ritual etchings destroyed upon heavy consecutive impacts. The large monk was on the floor. "You got to FeeEEL the heat brother, loosen your feet and hear the mountain deep!" Iron feet shuffled back and forth as the heavy Stahl of the cloth bobbed his head back and forth. Remaig was having fun, long and dull had been the days since his two-century-long reign as underground Ironborn boxing champ. The large monk flipped to his feet, earth shuddering under his intense weight, before he could even bring the flying mantis kick halfway up, another iron fist, a hard jab, slammed into his nose. He fell. "no nonO NO NO!!! I said you gotta believe my brothers and the Platinum will come to YOU!" The monks stood perplexed. The Ironborn glowed with the heat of the mountain, if only for a moment, before settling down to a natural black as his footwork slowed. A startled look can over their hard faces as they swiftly took a knee, heads bowed in humility. "Aw c'mon guys I ain't that special! Just trying to get yall to loosen up and let the mountain SPEAK to us! You just gotta-" A small strong grip met Remaig's shoulder. He felt a weight on his entire being. He turned to face the Steel Dragon. "I would like to hear more, if you have time for a short sermon between our training rounds?" The Long-gang could have sworn they saw smile, or what constitutes a smile on such a hard face. (MAGMA KUNG FUUUUUUU tech 3) Meanwhile, to the south, Liu Chii oversees the creation of the newest harbor city of Raman. The Lao brothers have created the finest ship he had seen in his days as the Stahl's most successful trader and official political envoy. He stood before the Lao brothers and all of their workmen. Oil glistening on all of their already shining skin. (Research into the petals as yet was unsuccessful) "You have all done a spectacular job, you and men like you are the pride of the Stahl. I will keep this short. The Gold council has been so pleased both with the expansion south and creation of our first ship, they have commissioned the creation of more. It is of utmost importance to them that we move with greatest haste." He bit his thumb as he paced before them. He was unsure how they would go about this. "Our ships need to be... More defensible... And I know! They are made out of hardened Stahl-forged-steel how defensible do they need to be? Well they need some sort of offense..." The Lao brothers IMMEDIATLY went to work, not so much as letting Liu Chii finish spouting off his own ideas. They pulled forth a blueprint... "Yup. That would work..." Chii smirked. The brothers were nothing if not ingenious... He looked down upon a schematic for a clockwork ballista, large enough and powerful enough to fire a solid steel spear...Liu Chiis mind immediately raced, he snapped his aide to his side and began listing... the difficulty they would have would be getting enough high grade materials for ammo, mounting them, having the Steelborn trained in their effective use... He had work to do (Raise babies first navy4). Peter: Peter was feeling good. Better than he had in a while. After meeting the locals on the continent to the east, Peter was beginning to suspect more and more that there had to be more non-Peters out there. Recent Peter solidarity had led to rather than a fear, a fascination with these non-Peters. The exposure to non-Peters lead to Peters having superior abstract thinking skills, which has had enormous scientific implications. Using these things, Peter put together a foreign exploration program. Flyers went up all over the city of Peter urging Peters to sign up to explore the world and experience the Non-Peters. (Action 1-2 Increased trade range based on culture) Action 3 4 Culture Aripa: The decrees of the Philosopher boomed out in the city, built specially for acoustics so as to amplify the voice of a single speaker to the whole city. None can forget the many lost in battle. But just as new skin must grow on the body to replace the old, so must we focus on reconstruction. We must find ways to make ourselves stronger and thus better order the soul. The disordered tyrant Gyges' body may have been burned, but his research is nonetheless valuable. We will continue to seek after his fell science to learn how to be not seen. The truest test of virtue (science researchx1) The guardians need to pause. We must develop our understanding of the forms. We cannot let our zeal in battle overcome our Intellect. After all, what use is a body if the emotion rules over the Intellect? (Culturex3). Ramkarh: “SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” The sound pierced the air as sharply as a pebble falling into the ocean, immediately drowned out by countless other noises far louder and more annoying. The warehouse was a calamitous cacophony of clamor and color, winged shapes streaking across the room as claws leapt out of cages attempting to strike them. Occasionally, a human figure could be made out amidst the racket, although usually not for very long before it frantically dived behind a crate or something sturdier for cover. The Takme Jungles had been flush with exotic wildlife indeed, and SOMEONE had to name them all. What fun. Edara rolled her eyes and attempted to keep calm. “Next!” Three jildersnamps and several varieties of sikkothishet later, she rose from her desk. She needed some fresh air. (Income 1,2) ------------------ “You know, you keep bring driftwood back in here like that I’ll have to start charging you extra.” Karo walked around the hull he had been carving to see Ramkamhe and his sons dragging the remains of their boat up on shore. “You know those aren’t built to go much past the shallows.” This was hardly the first time they’d run into this problem; it seemed almost daily now. They would spot a bigger fish a few stones’ throws further out; they would row out to meet it; it would inevitably start thrashing; they would paddle back floating on a few shards of boat. “Uh, yeah, that’s probably on us,” admitted Ramkaste, the eldest. Ramkamhe grinned almost sheepishly and raised his hand. “We will make sure you receive what you are due.” The younger son, Ramhen, continued. “We did make it a little further out this time, and I swear on Sebok’s scales I spotted land on the horizon.” The king leaned on the partially-carved hull. “So we were wondering… can you go bigger?” (Naval tech 1,2). Karisa: “What do you mean you can’t find any of them?” Jarim asked, his expression befuddled. “I mean that pretty much every single tactician in the major cities outside of Seregtim have either gone on a holiday, gone out of the country, fled, or are taking a pleasure cruise around the circumference of the island.” Elder Throm said, sratching a nail against the grain of the wooden table. His apprentices (who had gathered the intelligence), were huddled around the back of his chair. It was clear that they were eager to leave the energy charged room. “Well, can you get them back?!” Elder Rheara asked, her voice sharpened with annoyance. “We can try to find them, yes, though it will be a bit of an undertaking.” “Then undertake it and get them started working on actually making our military run!” (Military Research 1) Jarrah said. While it seemed like everyone was more than slightly scared of Rheara, he had taken to her like a fish out of water. Jarim was just surprised that her harsh methods had led to such a success. After all, it was a well-known fact that Karisans did not take kindly to being ordered about. “Yes, yes, and Jarim, if you or your apprentices could try to find an artist for the propaganda, that would be lovely.” (Military Technology: Propaganda 2) Rheara said. Jarim nodded, for once glad that someone besides him was actually taking the initiative and trying to take charge. He was getting a bit tired of all the trials that came with being one of the main leaders of a country. “Of course, Elder Rheara.” He said. The female nodded. “And what of the Navy?” One of the braver apprentices asked. Jarim thought for a moment, “Our ships are ready and their captains are strong. I would suggest that instead of trying to reinforce the Golden Ships, we allow for the shipwrights to take a break. They have been working non-stop for quite a while.” “What should we do in the meantime then?” “We focus on advantages to trade.” “Oh?” “I would suggest that we research the countries around us, or at least the ones who are Golden Ships can reach with ease. Learn their customs, determine what is appropriate and what is considered common curtesy. If we learn to respect their cultures, then perhaps they will welcome us more fondly.” (Trade Technology: Increase trade profitability 3) “That sounds like a fair idea.” Rheara said, resting her head upon her hands. “Though I would like for us to also stick to military advancements mainly.” She stopped short, thinking, “I was wondering if while we are waiting for our inland friends to appear, if we should try to train anyone willing to pick up a sword. (Millitary Research 4) Just to make sure that our cities are just a little bit safer.” There was a collective chorus of agreement to her words. Again, Jarim wondered just what the future would bring. NBR: “Enough of your ceaseless worrying, Martha! It’s perfectly simple, all you need do is to look up and interpret the dance of the stars to guide you through the night!” “El-..Elder Raddomn, That’s the banana cabinet. I’m over here.” “Of course you are, Maria! I was just-wait, why in the name of the Greatfish do we have a banana cabinet? With bananas? They’re clearly tropical and sub-tropical fruits, and in this weath-“ First-Shipmaster Oglough quickly interceded, unwilling to lose another hour of his life debating climatological implications of bananas. “But Elder, what of the Dark Moon? Even if this…sky-reading would allow our ships to travel more accurately, what will we do when the Dark Moon is nigh?” Raddomn distractedly waved Oglough off. “No need to worry about that, dear child. I was dealing with nigh moons when you were barely an infant! Why, this one time, right after the toasters…” As Raddomn’s tirade grew more vocal, Oglough seized the opportunity to escape, fleeing as Raddomn seized a banana from the cupboard, shouting “Tell me your secrets, or I’ll show you what that bug-woman taught me about peeling turtles!!” (Naval Tech 1+2) As the door shut behind Oglough, a window opened and Kerlioh hopped in. “Elder, I have the latest-What in the name of the great googly Greatfish are you doing to that banana?!” Quickly removing the banana from the sextant, Raddomn growled out, “Teaching it to respect its betters. What brings you here, young man? Is it the quarterly earnings report, or is this another surprise inspection from corporate?” “Er..yes. Well, I have the initial findings from the study on the Coast Cows reaction to the Dark Moon. It’s intriguing. It appears that they not only can resist the effects to some degree, but their sense of direction is actually heightened by its presence!” Raddomn smiled, the yellow offender quickly forgotten. “Excellent work Todd! That will be sure to bump our stock this quarter!” Kerlioh hesistantly turned to go. “Well…I’ll interpret that as permission to continue my research?” “Go, young Jimothy, go! Quickly, before time stops again!” As Kerlioh clambered back out the window confusedly, Raddomn turned his attention back to the banana lying innocuously on the floor. “Now then, where were we?” “Dank Moon tech gogogo 3+4). Katoba: Otakay goes back to researching the sword of lore. He's running out of ideas, so he decides to just leave it out in the middle of the encampment to see if anyone else can figure it out. Then he goes out hunting (military tech research x1). Chan'hapa (Red Fox), thinking over his past encounter with the Remoran pilgrims, decides it might be a good idea to establish a bulwhark against future destabilizing elements. He orders a series of outposts to be set up along the coastline (expansion x3). Meanwhile, Kantana and Chapawee teeter back and forth between feeling guilty and satisfied. They really hope that nothing bad happens to them for their continued transgressions (hope). Commune of the Gods: "The moon," Rega says, plopping down on a wooden bench in the Cheforna village beside Dunlap, worn out from another day of baking dozens upon dozens of pies that no one would eat. "What about it?" The God of Wednesdays asks. "Have you ever noticed that things seem to take a turn for the worse when it's in the sky?" Dunlap honestly couldn't say that he did. He, like the rest of the gods, paid the thing no mind. The humans wouldn't shut up about it, though. It was always "moon this, moon that." Rega draped a flour-covered arm over Dunlap's shoulder. "If we can get the humans to believe that there's nothing scary about the Dark Moon--" Dunlap smiles. He likes this line of thinking. (dark moon tech gogo 1-4). Zinbiel: Pyth was mystified. Where did that voice come from? Who dared to talk over him? The only people that had ever even retorted to his speeches had just returned from meeting a new nation. Anyway the voice was much to booming for it to be Rak’s and too serious to be Swanky’s. Pyth couldn’t deny that it helped rally his troops, but that was his job. Should he seek this man out and punish him or reward him? He could just try to ignore the whole situation, but no matter how hard he wished or willed it just wouldn’t leave his head. There was only one place to go for answers, The Tomb of Keyes. Upon arriving, Pyth noticed the Sphere of influence was still there. He had forgotten about the ole good luck charm. Nobody had used it in ages. Pyth found a good log and sat pondering the days of old when people actually revered the messages it sent. Hell it even drove Pyth crazy when he became desperate. The entire premise seemed stupid, they were just holes in the clouds after all. He continued to chuckle to himself, but the more he thought about it, the more he secretly wished it would show him something now. He knew that was impossible though. A cloud hung over the Sphere since the last Dark Moon attack. How Pyth hated the Dark Moon, almost as much as birds. The rest of Zinbiel hated it more, in fact it was illegal to even mention it coming. If only there was a way to divert it. Pyth again looked helplessly at the Sphere hoping for answers. “I see you found your way back her” That voice. It was so familiar yet Pyth couldn’t quit put a finger on it. “I spend many nights out here pondering too” It was like de ja vu. The last time he heard this voice was the last time he was here. “Tim!” Pyth exclaimed. “Wow. When was the last time I saw you?” It was rhetorical but Tim answered anyway “I was at the battle. Didn’t you recognize my voice?” Pyth stammered a bit, but no real words came out “HaHa” Tim let out a deep belly laugh, almost knocking Pyth to his knees. “What does it matter? I know why you are here. We must fix this moon issue, and I have an idea. Stay right there.” Pyth just stood there as confused as ever. This seemed to be happening a lot recently and he didn’t like it one bit. After a few moments of arbitrary time, Tim had a machine in front of Pyth. “This machine take the snow all over the ground and fluffs it up. It takes the water molecules and stretches them out causing them to break their Hydrogen bonds to each other and Boom goes the dynamite.” A puff of mist sprang from the machine into the air joining the clouded surface above. “Now I understand its not much, but if you get the scientist to mass produce this maybe we can stop this moon thing once and for all. If we don’t I have a bad feeling something drastic will happen.” (Dark Moon Tech 1-4 Plus 60 muney into the rolls) Kingdom of the Stars: The dead walked the lands of the people.This is, contrary to the initial popular outcry, an incredibly good thing. While the dead do have their negative qualities such as their smell and lack of free will or intelligence, they are amazing at completing both dangerous and repetitive tasks. The dead are everywhere, they till the fields, carry messages over long distances, carry heavy burdens, and work the mines. The living have been forced to adjust. Instead of breaking their backs with manual labor to earn their keep they now have a much more terrifying prospect to face. Middle Management. Jak of The “Langschaft” mine was one of the earliest adopters of the new paradigm. While some of the other sootpelts tried to work alongside their recently deceased bretheren, He found a better day. He would wake up early every morning and get to the mine first. Once there, he would collect all of the dead who spent the night laboring. From that point, he would simply ask them to follow him, and then point at any areas he needed dug out. While the dead would occasionally try to dig through each other, his savvy direction became the model for mine management throughout the kingdom. Culture (Cheaper communication and more free time) Military (Cheaper access to metals) Income (Cost of labor depressed) Expansion (The people spread as they become less tied to their jobs). Gorash: Songs of Repetitive Motion The strange success of Timbol had turned out to be a great boon to all of Gorash. Did she know really what the song she sang actually meant? Not really, but the results were plain for all to see, as one week they would bringforth record crops, or lead adventurous youths through perilous journeys, or sometimes just keep the struggles of everyday life just that much more bearable. Looking upon all the good that her work did, Timbol thought to herself that it would be supremely selfish to not delve deeper in search of further understanding, for the power of the Songs of Shaping could do much for Gorash, if not with a terribly good amount of precision. (1/2 Epic Tech- Songs of Shaping improvement, keep it random however <3) Songs of Controlled Growth The Village Bards found themselves in quite the predicament. While they had once been powerful and ruled over the majority of Gorash's people, the Wilderness Bard's Homesteader movement had drawn much of that majority out of the Villages and Towns out into the Wilds, beyond the Village Bard's influence and authority. Not ones to sit around lazily, that's more something the layabout wilderness Bards would spend their time, the Village Bards decided that if people wished to move out of the older portions of the swamp, why not follow them and create new townships? Ledger keepers and scribes were assembled and a host of new charters were written, now it is time to wait and see if we build it, will they come? (3/4 Expansion) Phantasmagoria: Hypnosomus's children begin to despair at their inability to imagine armies of defense all of a sudden. Sao realizes it is because the children are panicked, frightened. She always had difficulty thinking straight in such times. She calls to all of them to retreat and meditate with her in peace to raise creatures for battle, using each other's ideas to stengthen their own. hell, I mean, armies: 1-4. Results: Skaldaea: 11, 6, 10, 4, 12 The Second Synod of Progenitism is, one more, a useless mess of internal debate. Originally Frost had planned to open with a statement from the Silverborn Stahl, who would legitimize the entire prospect with what he assured was a “joyful revelation.” Instead, the Stahl representative never arrived. The entire train off the rails from its onset, Frost manages to produce worthwhile discussion at the meeting, but ultimately no orthodoxy is decided. The hubbub caused by the religious debate spills over into the rest of Skaldaea as well, suffocating the Skaldaean bureaucracy as many pencil pushers refuse to work with one another due to differences in opinion. After much discussion and squabbling, it appeared religion had spread across the majority of the small country, and brought with it all of its trials and tribulations. (no culture get, no expansion get, -10 wealth) Amaranth is not the only one slowed by the religious debacle that is Progenitism. Tamer, having thus far kept her own opinion out of the debate, looks to her people and sees sharp division unlike anything she has seen before. They were once united in making Skaldaea great and in taming the southern tribals. Now they couldn’t decide whether or not their Progenitor had made them with the intention for them to evolve past the city-state civilization into a nation. (no expansions, -10 wealth) Uniform production is halted by a literal logjam in the river powering the button factory. (no mil tech). Akachk: 13, 18, 13, 12 “BOOM!” The ship rocked back and forth in the wake of the bombard’s shot, and a cloud of black soot gently blew back onto the cannon crew and coated them in a fine dust. Sakahi was excited; the first time they had shot one of the artillery pieces from a ship, the entire bronzeclad had rolled over and the bombard had nearly been lost. But the new balances built into the base of the cannon now keep it from rolling the ship, and the crews had been properly trained to mitigate the recoil. The finest sootshots could bring a bombard to fire four or even five times within a minute. Asab shot a toothy grin at the inventor. With these new weapons, they would soon be the biggest things in the ocean. (-60 wealth, EPIC TECH GET- Sea bombards, +5 naval tech) Meanwhile the Konigan beautification project has gone excellently. Overgrown parks and coal burning streetlamps are tended to by the old and poor of the capital, in an attempt to keep them useful as the young nation expands. They dutifully tidy up the city by night, even removing the ruins of the Kakagin compound at the cost of the city as part of an appeasement agreement. (+1 culture) The Tibikas of course, have long since left the capital, using a small grant of encouragement given to them by the elders to fund their expedition southward. There they find open plains for the kikadangs, which are pacified for the first time in a long while. (EXPANSION GET!, -10 wealth, +5 income). Stahl: 10, 11, 7, 12 Remaig’s attempt to adopt the loud and boisterous tirades of the Skaldaean preachers does little to solve the problem of empty pews. Those who were not turned onto the worship of the Platinum already are not interested in hearing louder sermons, and in fact many of the attendees who were coming to seek quiet reflection are deterred by Remaig’s aggressive approach to worship. (no religion success). “Now let the Platinum come to you! Let the heat waaaash over you! Become one with the mountain! Feel it in your STEEEL!” Remaig shouted affirmations loudly while the Steel Dragon contemplated his life choices. The Long Gang was doing just fine practicing in the lava, as the additional drag of the liquid rock helped produce extra resistance to make them faster. Now however, he watched as the magma cooled on the back of the head of one of his lieutenants. This was pointless. He would have to wait until the preacher was gone to resume training. “AND HE WILL FILL YOUU WITH HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND POWWWWAAAAH” It might be a while. The Steel Turtle was the Lao brothers’ greatest creation. The massive domed ship was originally a proof-of-concept: it was too big to be mass produced, but the fact that it existed proved that smaller ships were viable. However, working big appeared to be the only way that the Lao brothers could. Their first and currently only working ballista is too large to be placed on any ship but the Iron Turtle. So if the Stahl wanted a fighting navy, this would have to do. (Epic Navy raised (due to last turns 20)- The Steel Turtle- fights at +2 combat strength). Peter: 13, 16, 14, 7 The Peters, especially those of the School of Universal Peterdom, are excited with the prospect of heading out to find more not-Peters. They believe that, in time, they can prove the innate superiority of every Peter, and perhaps even convince the not-Peters that it would be better to be Peter. However, the exact way to phrase such a message is difficult. Several Peters begin discussing the best way to preach about the brilliance of Peterdom, and many more begin printing fliers to extoll the virtues of Peter. However, until these details are ironed out, they have decided that they shall not leave the island. The side effect of these debates is that Peters begin to discover more about what makes them great as they compile various lists and charts to provide empirical data for their greatness. (need another success, +2 culture). Aripa: 17, 14, -1, 8 (-2 to all rolls due to the presence of the Dark Moon) With knowledge of the rings of invisibility made open to the public, all manner of magicians and alchemists take up the cause of coaxing magic from the defunct jewelry. What they discover is that, with a small donation of blood, the magic will hold true, even beneath the light of the Dark Moon. While it is still less effective under those conditions, the addition of blood magic to the rings has made them massively more powerful during normal conditions, and soon invisibility rings are forged for an elite taskforce dedicated to enforcing the philosopher’s teachings. (Epic tech complete! Rings of Invisibility- bonus to sneak attacks, +4 military) However, discussion of the rings and the inclusion of blood magic infuriates many of the teaching purists, who believe that defiling the body in pursuit of power goes against the will of the Philosopher. This group quickly breaks out into open rebellion, seizing the western lands in a violent upheaval. The guardians, who had so calmly begun to rejoin everyday life, find their weapons needed once again. (+3 culture, REVOLUTION, -5 income -2 army cap as your people rage against the use of blood magic). Ramkarh: 13, 11, 20, 3 Edara makes slow but steady progress on naming the creatures within the King’s menagerie. She does not enjoy the job, per se, but she is determined to get some personal benefit out of it. To this end, she creates a naming structure, which she insists be used in naming all newfound creatures. After stopping the flow of animals for a moment, she divides all of them into categories depending on their shape and size, which all animals (or at least all she has found) will fit into. The Edaran naming system is quickly adopted by explorers throughout the kingdom, and the system allows for much more efficient sorting (and monetizing) or exotic animals. (+1 income) “So I think this will suit your needs.” Karo walked the King’s sons around the enormous canoe he had created. The ship was a single massive piece of wood, carved from one of the great trees of the southern jungle. It was different than what Karo had normally worked with, but by using all of his workshop assistants, he had made short work of the titanic log. However, he had stuck with the canoe design- this new wood was much sturdier than the trees he had worked in the past and by keeping it all as one piece he was confident the hull would be far too durable for some simple fish to break. As long as the boys didn’t run into some kind of monster, they would be fine. “Excellent! You will be repaid handily for your work. How much do we pay you?” The King stared at Karo for a moment, deliberating. “Never mind. Whatever it is, you will get triple! And two goats! And maybe one of those strange jungle lizard things.” (Epic Tech Get! Stonewood canoes- +4 naval tech, less chance for them to be destroyed in a defeat!). Karisa: 18, 14, 17, 12 While Jarim understands that Rheara’s aggressive tactics can be quite effective in getting things done, he has a hunch it might have something to do with the missing tacticians. He rage has something of a reputation, and often times the carrot works better than the stick. He pens a series of open letters that are printed throughout Karisa which tell of how appreciated all educated members of Karisan culture are, not just the university students. He, after all, had no formal education yet is one of the most successful Elders in the tiny nation. This succeeds in drawing in a large portion of the previously hidden inlanders. (+4 military) His footnote about the propaganda piece (framed in much more flowery terms of course), attracts an artist by the name of Jaem Glaff, who decides that Elder Sam would look best with a pair of drooping whiskers and a fisherman’s hat. This would make him look both knowledgeable and like a man of the people. The posters themselves read “Elder Sam wants YOU!” The campaign is ultimately a success, and it becomes fashionable in some of the highest social circles to wear simple fishermen’s hats in order to show their patriotic pride in Karisa. (+1 to army raising) In the cities, Rheara’s training initiative for the militia is also adopted, as essentially anything she could have proposed was better than the last debacle with the dancing. (+1 military) The prospect of profitable trade goods is one that most of the sailors support. However, with no trading partners outside of Karisa, few know what would sell for large amounts of money in other parts of the world. The financial backers of the trade expeditions decide it would be best to bring a variety of common Karisan goods rather than specialize in one type of item, at least until they know what is valuable to others. (one more big success needed). NBR: 14, 8, 12, 20 Oglough stares at the night sky. It is as inky and black as it’s ever been. He wondered, for a little while, about what Elder Raddomn could have been talking about. The existence of these “stars” was as preposterous as a tropical banana- everyone knew they grew best in the lower latitudes where the long summer days caused them to grow to ridiculous size. It was just a matter of keeping them warm. At any rate, Oglough finds neither thoughts of stars nor of bananas appealing, and decides it would be best if he just drilled the trimaran crews. (+2 naval tech) Meanwhile, Kerlioh has done intense investigation into the relationship between the Dark Moon and the Sea Cows. It was true, what had been said about them. They seemed to laugh at other animals who suffered during the Dark Moon, and used its particularly purple light to better see in the surface waters of the ocean. Now, Kerlioh would laugh at them. The secret, you see, had been the Sea Cow’s udders. By milking the females, who had parts identical to normal cows, Kerlioh found she could get access to the precious liquid, which reduced the effects of the Dark Moon. By drinking simply a cup a day while the Dark Moon was overhead, it was as if there were no drain at all. (DARK IMOOOOOONITY GET- COW COW COW COW COW). Katoba: 20, 16, 5, 11 When Otakay returns from his hunting trip, he does not immediately go to check on the sword. There are beasts to skin, and fires to tend, and women to provide for. He takes his time making his rounds throughout his tribe, making sure everyone has what they need. He was lucky today- a pair of auruchs had been separated from their herd and was an easy kill. By the time he finally returned to the sword’s resting place, the sun had nearly set. In fact, he was sure it must simply be too dark to see properly, because it looked as though the blade of the sword was missing. But as he approached he realized all that lay upon the ground was its hilt, the great black obsidian blade now gone from the longsword. Terrified that something had gone wrong, he dove upon the sword and held the hilt with both his hands. It was much lighter now. Yet grasping it, he felt calmer. He felt more confident. And as he sat there trying to realize why he was not terrified that his sword would no longer function in such a way, a voice began to enter his mind. A great many voices, as it were, all chanting in ancient Katoban, in a dialect and volume such that he could not understand. By sheer instinct, he knew what to do. Placing his hand over the end of the hilt, he drew the blade forth from himself, and a brilliant white light burst out before him. For now he held before him an incorporeal blade, its amorphous outline marked by brilliant, swirling runes in a language he had never spoken, which burned with a blue-white light. He felt the power and knowledge of his ancestors wash over him, and knew that the secrets of the sword were his. (EPIC TECH GET- Sword of Lore: higher culture provides a higher military bonus, Dark Moon immunity) Meanwhile, Chan’hapa begins moving the Katobans toward the coastline by stirring up talk of the Remoran explorers. This is not quite as effective as he had hoped it would be, as many people forgot the ancient fight with the Cheforna and the possible problems that might come of them being allies with people who claimed to be quite literally gods, but several dozen Katobans were still horrified by the dangers of the plains and agreed to push northward. (Expansion GET, +5 income, -10 wealth). The Remoran Gods: 4, 3, 12, 6 (-2 to all rolls due to the presence of the Dark Moon) Getting the Cheforna to believe the Dark Moon is harmless is an almost impossible task. They have lived under its suffering for as long as anyone can remember, which, for an oral tradition culture, is an extremely long time. Very little progress is made convincing them that it won’t affect them in some negative way, mostly due to the Gods feeling the power of the moon themselves. It was a terrible thing, feeling something actively tugging at you. Normally you only had to worry about your own expenditures of power, but the Dark Moon actively drained them. It was an issue that would need all of their full attentions. (gonna have to do better than that friend.) Zinbiel: 6, 13, 10, 7 Pyth was utterly bewildered at what Tim had told him. He wasn’t exactly sure of how the specific worked, but if he understood correctly, it meant that the machine would make clouds out of the snow and use it to block out the Dark Moon. It was certainly… an idea. Whether or not it worked was another matter entirely. However, Pyth figured himself a good natured guy. With a bright smile, he watched as Tim pulled a long chord and the machine revved to life. It seemed to spin around and around for a moment and pull the snow towards it, before giving a somewhat defeated sigh. Tim frowned. It wasn’t supposed to do that. Then, a tiny puff of steam lofted out of the top of the machine. Perhaps with a little more time and effort something could be made of it. (1 babby success get! -60 wealth). The Kingdom of the Stars: 18, 7, 8, 12 The new system of what is called “live management” is a wild success throughout the Kingdom. The people, originally quite upset with the existence of the walking dead, find them to be quite useful for manual labor. In fact, over time it develops into somewhat of a caste system. The longer than an individual has been undeceased, the less the families and friends remember and care about them. This slow dehumanization of the zombies allows the people to slowly accept their new members of society. (+4 culture) However, the Kingdom of the Stars are yet to use their free labor force to its full potential. Many of the living cannot think of an unproductive life and work themselves to death competing with the undead. Meanwhile, only a few colonists attempt to make their way northward using their new pack animals, as some are not comfortable raising a family with zombies around. (Expansion GET!, -10 income, +5 wealth) (will update on battle map). Gorash: 11, 20, 19, 13 The Song of Shaping was a difficult piece to master. It was, after all, made for many parts, and therefor Timbol was certain she would never fully understand the music. However, as the rest of the Gorashi have come to accept her as a savior to her people, she has begun to warm back up to society. Comfortable in her belief that no one is attempting to usurp her at this very moment, she takes a pair of apprentices under her wing. Though very young, she teaches them two parts of the song which improve its sound while not being incredibly difficult- she teaches them to keep the beat on the drums and with the bass. (+1 to random bonus) The Village bards, meanwhile, began their process of slow expansion. While the Wild Bards had drawn everyone out of their homes and farms, the Villagers knew that there was a better way. By reintroducing the concept of the strawberry farmer, they knew that they could get new communities up and running in no time. In the deeper swamps to the east, several small towns spring up seemingly overnight, providing delicious strawberry cordial to the parched and the uninspired. (double Expansion GET, +10 income, -20 wealth) (will update on battle map). Phantasmagoria: 11, 15, 17, 13, 1 Sao’s meditations echo somberly throughout the forests of her father. The animals, once gripped with an unparalleled terror, are calmed by the gentle tune, and gather in the Grove of First Thought to answer her call. Arrayed before her is a sampling of every animal that lives in Hypnosomus’ domain, from his earliest notions to the largest and most exotic of beasts. Though they are not all his creations, they all recognize her tune. Something unnatural has taken over the northern forests. It is their job, their natural duty, to get it back. (3 armies raised, -30 income) Battles: Battle for Bloodless Hemomancy The Children of the Philosopher- 20+4, 12+4, 10+4=54 The Philosophical Purists- 14+8= 22 Though many among the Guardians recognized the reason for the public outcry, it simply was a matter of what was best for the nation. The dissenters argued that blood magic was too dangerous a source of power to be used so freely, and that it violated the Philosopher’s demand to maintain the purity of one’s body. However, the Guardians, as well as much of the general populace understood another of the Philosopher’s teachings to be much more important in this matter- the needs of the nation come before the concerns of its people. Hence the reason that armies could be drafted and taxes could be collected. It was how society worked. Therefor when the Purists broke out into open revolt, there was only one thing the Guardians could do. The battle was relatively short. Though a few of the lieutenants had defected to the side of the purists and organized them into proper battle lines, the rebels were completely unprepared for the addition of perfect invisibility to the equation. Elite infiltration units would sneak in to their camps in the middle of the night and sow chaos and destruction among their ranks. By the time the actual battle took place, most of the rebels were exhausted and demoralized, and quickly surrendered themselves to punishment by the Guardians. Though they had openly revolted, due to the nigh bloodless nature of their defeat they are quickly welcomed back into society. (Ez breezy beautiful put down revolution) Category:Nationbuilder VII Turn Records